Cultural drivers of Social Entrepreneurship: evidences from Ukraine

Purpose – This paper aims to investigate the cultural drivers that lie under the adoption of Social Entrepreneurship (SE) in Ukraine, mainly focusing on the role that In-group Collectivism and Human Orientation play in shaping Entrepreneurial and Social Orientation of both individuals and organizations. Design/methodology/approach – The paper is theoretically grounded and based on an inductive approach. Firstly, an extensive literary review about SE is proposed. Secondly, SE in Ukraine is depicted. A cultural interpretation of the emerging trends is, therefore, provided, mainly referring to the available GLOBE data. Originality/value – This paper contributes to the literature improving about SE by providing for a culturally-based framework to deepen a still unexplored field. Moreover, the value of this study consists in presenting how cultural particularities shape social entrepreneurial activity in Ukraine, offering a new and original contribution about the topic. Practical implications – This paper will expand the ability of both academics and practitioners to recognize culture as key drivers of SE. In doing this, it opens up future exploitations about the way culture and cultural diversities may be managed in order to improve the effectiveness of firms’ practices particularly referring to social well-being